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CDLJ&B Images

Preparing and submitting images

The images we are referring to here are static pictures. Images presented in other formats such as VRML or MPEG/video should be discussed with editorial staff before their submission.

Scanning images (and getting them right for presentation over the web) can be a very time-consuming, and often costly effort, and is therefore the author's responsibility - the staff of the CDLJ cannot be responsible for this work. We will, however, discuss with you the scaling and other modifications of images which we consider necessary for an effective presentation. See the CDLI's Methods and Conventions page ("Digitization of cuneiform tablets and images") for recommendations on scanning physical objects, color or black-and-white photos, and line-art (for instance, tablet autographs), and for a walk-through in producing vector images with the Adobe program Illustrator (scalable vector graphics are now web-implementable and will form a part of future CDLI presentations).

Image preparation

Please note the following few points when you are preparing your images for publication over the web.

Scale: Given that the size of an image on screen is dependent on the settings of the users's monitor and browser, it is best to incorporate the scale into a legend of your graphics when they are produced. If a photograph has a scale, please inform us of the size of the scale used.

Thumbnails: It would be very useful to create a set of 'thumbnail' images. These thumbnails, or small scaled-down images, take less time to download and are visually pleasing. Thumbnails are linked to full-sized images.

Formats: You should always save for yourself your raw data images, now commonly kept in TIFF format. Internet publications prefer compressed copies of these raw files, in either 'jpg' or 'gif' format. We recommend 'gif' files for single color, in particular gray-scale images. For color photographs and complex, colorful illustrations, we recommend 24-bit scans in jpg compression.

File size (and storage) is not really an issue for us, but you should be aware of the transmission restrictions of many web users, and scale your images accordingly. Despite improving bandwidth, images greater than 100Kb should be considered exceptional.

Scanning and image size: You will have your own standard for the image resolution of your scans. Consult the the CDLI's Methods and Conventions page for recommendations, but consider the possibilities in scaling the internet offers in advance of submitting your image to us. Test them on your own browser while you still have access to the object or photos being digitized.